SpaceX draws $250bn investor demand for largest-ever IPO, oversubscribed nearly fourfold

Investor frenzy

Investor demand for SpaceX's initial public offering has topped $250 billion, roughly three and a half to four times the $75 billion the company is seeking to raise, according to people close to the deal. The oversubscription marks one of the largest IPO demand levels in history, with long-only funds submitting what one source called sizable orders. The subscription figures are indications of interest, not final allocations, which will be set at pricing expected on June 11.

The roadshow

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and finance chief Bret Johnsen attended a lunch meeting at Morgan Stanley in Manhattan on June 9. Hosted by Morgan Stanley Co-President Dan Simkowitz, the event drew approximately 300 institutional investors. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also joined some Zoom calls with potential investors, sources said, as the company pushes its vision of dominating rocket launches, satellite internet, and an artificial intelligence future in orbit.

Market jitters

The offering coincides with extreme volatility in equity and crypto markets. The Nasdaq composite was trading lower on June 10 after its steepest one-day decline in over a year on June 6, and bitcoin dropped 2.8% to trade 37% below its January high. Some analysts believe selling by investors seeking to raise cash for the IPO may be contributing to the market's weakness.

SpaceX's pitch

SpaceX's roadshow presentations highlight its dominance in orbital mass, having lofted the bulk of payloads over the past three years, and the strength of its Starlink internet business. The company also points to a $23 trillion opportunity for its artificial intelligence offerings, claiming it is uniquely positioned to escape terrestrial power constraints by building AI compute capacity in space. The pitch comes amid US electricity generation growth that has lagged China's.